Grayson Perry
Sir Grayson Perry is a great chronicler of contemporary life, drawing us in with wit, affecting sentiment and nostalgia as well as, at times, fear and anger. In his work, Perry tackles subjects that are universally human: identity, gender, social status, politics, sexuality, religion. Perry’s art makes stealthy comments about society, its pleasures as well as its injustices and flaws, and explores a variety of historical and contemporary themes. He works with traditional media such as ceramics, cast iron, bronze, printmaking, drawing and tapestry, and is interested in how each historic category of object accrues intellectual and emotional baggage over time.
The winner of the 2003 Turner Prize, Perry was elected a Royal Academician in 2012, and received a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2013; he has been awarded the prestigious appointments of Trustee of the British Museum and Chancellor of the University of the Arts London (both in 2015), and received a RIBA Honorary Fellowship in 2016. Perry was awarded the Erasmus Prize 2021 by the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation; an exhibition celebrating the award was held at Kunstmuseum den Haag, Netherlands, in 2022. Perry has been made a Knight Bachelor for services to the arts in the King’s New Year Honours list 2023.
